The Government of Nicaragua has intensified its repressive actions against the university sector in an attempt to stifle dissent and restrict freedom of expression, according to a recent report by a group of United Nations experts. The Human Rights Expert Group on Nicaragua has revealed that students, teachers, and academic staff are facing serious human rights violations affecting fundamental rights such as life, personal integrity, education, academic freedom, and expression.
The comprehensive 96-page report details that Nicaraguan authorities are using tactics of both physical and psychological violence, including threats, intimidation, physical assaults, and prolonged isolation, practices that could amount to torture. These actions seem to be primarily targeting individuals who have participated in protests since 2018 or have expressed criticism of the Government.
A troubling element of the report is evidence of coordination between the branches of the State—executive, legislative, and judicial—to perpetrate these violations. According to the president of the Expert Group, these actions are part of a broader effort by the Government to eliminate university autonomy and turn these institutions into instruments of political control. “The academic community deserves safe and free spaces to express ideas and contribute to the social development of the country. These rights must be urgently restored,” stated Jan Simon.
The document also highlights the closure of several universities where there were social or opposition movements, and mentions the expulsion of students and teachers critical of the regime. In the universities that are still operational, political control measures have been imposed that severely restrict academic freedom and limit access to education for those perceived as opponents. According to experts, this situation has resulted in the lack of independent university institutions in the country.
In response to this concerning situation, the Expert Group has called on the international community to pressure the Nicaraguan Government to restore university autonomy and guarantee security and freedom of expression within the academic sphere. The urgency of coordinated action to protect the integrity of all members of the university sector in Nicaragua in this context of increasing repression is emphasized.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
